FOSTER PARENTS are people with good parenting skills
who are willing to share those skills with other people's
children — and there are not enough of them on the North

Shore.

Right now, there are 104 foster
homes on the North Shore, says
Linda Wishart, a resource social
worker. ‘‘Ideaily, we need another
40 to 50 homes.

‘There’s no such thing as a
perfect foster parent,’’ she said,
because the children in need of a
temporary home come from a wide
range of backgrounds, and have
had different experiences.

The greatest need, usually, is for
people who are capable and willing
to take in difficult teenagers.
“Some of them are more difficult
than others, but some of them
have been through more than
others.”’

Currently there is a shortage of
homes for younger siblings. The
Ministry of Social Services and
Housing, that runs the Foster
Parent Plan, does not like to split
up children from the same family,
especially younger children.

The children usually require
shelter for three to six months,
while they are integrated back into
their families.

Wishart said there are various
reasons for putting children in
foster homes, other than to protect
them from an abusive home life.

“These children may not be
coming from an abusive home at
all, but their parents may be going
through a difficult time,’’ she said.

The other way children come in-
to care is when they are ap-
prehended, because a_ child is
found at risk and in need of pro-
tection. In these cases, the natural
parents may be difficult, but then
they won't be told where their
children'are staying, Wishart -aid.

In either case, contact with the
parents is maintained, she said,
because the goal is to reunite the
family.

“In most circumstances, the

By JUSTINE HUNTER
Contributing Writer

natural parents try to be responsi-
ble.”

People applying to be foster
parents must supply three refer-
ences, plus one reference from a
doctor. Wishart says the parents
are checked for a criminal record,
and then social workers will visit
the home and interview the family.

“The rewards of fostering are
not primarily financial, We cover
the costs of the child. But there is a
reward in watching a child learn
how to laugh and smile and play
again. Sometimes it is a time of
growth for the foster parents’ own
children. A lot of people go into
fostering because their own
children are getting older, and they
want to care for younger
children.”

Wishart stressed that foster
parents don't have to have their
own children, although many of
them do,

“These kids are in shock,’’ she
said. ‘It's important the home can
buffer their shock to a degree, and
can understand how difficult it is
for them.’’

Foster parents are under no
obligation to take in a particular
child, and some ars approved to
take only certain types of children,
such as babies or teenage girls.
Wishart said parents are given as
much information as possible, but
they don’t always have enough in-
formation, especially if a child is
new to the ministry.

“The most difficult teenagers,
we're not trying to put into foster
homes,”’ she said, ‘but even those
labelled difficult can improve once
they are given a chance.

For more information call 666-

1256.

sizes 5-12
White, beige, navy,
and multi colour.

BEING A foster parent can be a
rewarding experience. Foster
parents are substitute parents.
They provide a secure supportive
home life for children who, often
through no fault of their own,
cannot be with their own families
for a while. There {fs currently a
shortage of foster parents on the
North Shore.

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